Commands for the Faithful Follower

Transcript

GR 1385
11/09/2008
Commands for the Faithful Follower
II Timothy 2:3-7
Gil Rugh


Turn in your Bibles to Paul's second letter to Timothy, which as you are aware if you've been with us, is Paul's last letter before his execution. And he writes this from a Roman prison and he is sure his execution will be taking place as a result of the process he is now involved in. And he is encouraging and challenging Timothy to remain faithful in the ministry of the gospel that God has entrusted to him. This is especially important as he reminded Timothy at the end of chapter 1 because there had been serious defections from the ministry of Paul and the ministry of the gospel, even in Asia where Timothy is located. In chapter 1 verse 15 Paul said, you are aware of the fact that all who are in Asia have turned away from me, and that includes Phygelus and Hermogenes. Striking words. Paul spent a number of years ministering in Asia. He was three years on one occasion in the city of Ephesus, the capital of the Roman province of Asia. And now we find here in his last imprisonment, all who are in Asia who might have stepped forward and stood up with Paul and been a support to him have chosen to abandon him. And that included two men that were evidently an especially prominent people. Perhaps they are the most shocking. That includes Phygelus and Hermogenes. It's like I want you to know how serious this is, Timothy. When I say all who are in Asia I mean even Phygelus and Hermogenes chose to turn away from me on that occasion.

What he is doing is reminding Timothy of the seriousness of the situation. This is not to discourage him. Timothy is in Asia, he's in Ephesus, and he knows some of this. Paul began by saying, you are aware of the fact, you already know this. But I am reminding you of it. These are serious times, Timothy. This is why Paul has to encourage him so strongly. You look around and see everybody pulling back, just sort of fading away, and you soon begin to think, well, maybe the better part of wisdom is for me to back off, retreat a little bit right now and wait for a better day. Paul is using this example, not to discourage Timothy, but to challenge him with how important it is that he remains faithful and true in his ministry in these days.

All is not in dark, and in verses 16-18 he gave the example of Onesiphorus. Onesiphorus is from Ephesus and when he came to Rome he went out of his way to search out the Apostle Paul, to encourage Paul, to help meet his needs. He was not ashamed to be identified with Paul and with the gospel in these difficult days. That's a positive example for Timothy to follow. Even though it looks like everyone is abandoning me, Timothy. Onesiphorus hasn't. You use him as an example; pattern your life after such a faithful man.

In chapter 2 Paul gives several more commands. In fact, chapter 2 is filled with commands I just did a brief count, going through the book of II Timothy last night, I believe I counted around 14 commands in chapter 2 alone. We'll see them as we move through, and I could be off either way, 1 or 2 or 3. But in my quick count I came up with about 14 commands in this one chapter. These are serious days. Paul is addressing Timothy as a beloved son, but he is addressing him firmly as an apostle of Jesus Christ who loved Timothy as his own child. These are things you must do in these difficult days.

Chapter 2 verse 1 the first command was be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Be strengthened, literally, passive voice. In other words it will come from God. You be strengthened by the Lord. This came out in verse 8 of chapter 1; join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God. Now you be empowered. Same basic word we're talking about here, a different form of the same word. You be empowered, be strong, strengthened in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. This will take more strength than you have, Timothy. You cannot do the work of the Lord in your own strength. I tell you, you must be empowered in the grace that God provides for you to have His strength. And that comes because you are in Christ Jesus. You know we must never forget we are not able in and of ourselves to do the Lord's work.

Back up to II Corinthians 12, a passage that I've mentioned to you before. Paul is speaking of his own situation, and as with everything else, Paul also had his own personal bodily afflictions he had to deal with and a special demonic being that brought added difficulty to his life. He asked the Lord in verse 8 three times, please, give me relief. And He has said to me, verse 9, my grace is sufficient for you. There is grace. My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness. And there is our word. Be strong, be strengthened, be empowered. And power is perfected in weakness. And God's power works in us in that supernatural awesome way, even in our great weakness. And the amazing thing is God takes us frail human beings with our weaknesses and uses us as instruments of His power. Most gladly, Paul says, therefore, I will boast about my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses and everything else, with insults, distresses, persecutions, difficulties for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. That's a great truth for us to remember. We sometimes evaluate and look at opportunities and say, I'd love to do it, I'm just not capable. Well we don't doubt that, we are a miserable bunch of weaklings. And that's the amazing thing, God has brought us together to demonstrate His power and the weaker we are the more evident it is that it must be God's power accomplishing His work.

I remember a Bible teacher that used to come to the Bible College I was at and speak. He couldn't see, he was a little short guy. When he'd read he'd put his nose, and he'd follow his nose on the page. You'd go to the library when he was there speaking and he'd be there studying with his nose on the page. He'd get up and preach in chapel and you'd say, how in the world that little chubby blind man could preach the Word of God like this. It's just amazing. He wasn't sitting home saying, Lord, if you gave me better eyesight, if you gave me a better physical presence I would have the ability to.......... What? Impress people with himself? But when he opened the Word of God it was powerful. That's what Paul said. In my weakness people might look and say he's nothing. But there is something supernatural because the Word of God through him is powerful. That's true for all of us.

Back up to II Corinthians 4:7. He's talking about the gospel. Verse 3, if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. Verse 7, but we have this treasure in earthen vessels, in these physical bodies, these bodies of dust so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from us.

So you come back to II Timothy 2, remember Paul wrote to the Romans in Romans 1:16 and said, I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. So Paul is commanding Timothy in II Timothy 2:1, you be strengthened, you get your strength from the Lord. And you see that balance as we'll see through the whole book, really, your responsibility and God's supernatural work. And they go together. You need God's strength, Timothy, you better get it, it's your responsibility. You draw upon what you have available to you in His grace and you carry on your ministry in that strength.

The second command was in the middle of verse 2, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. You take the gospel that has been deposited, that's the word entrust, we've seen its use in other passages around this. It's been entrusted with you, deposited with you, now you entrust it or deposit it. A deposit is something given for the care and safekeeping. The gospel has been deposited with you. Now you take it, and up in chapter 1 verse 13, you get a good hold on it and grasp it, have it in your own possession. Verse 14, you guard it, protect it, you don't make any alterations, additions, subtractions, changes. You protect it. And now you pass it on, you deposit it with other faithful men who will teach others. And that's the process.

Now in this process, we're not done with the commands. Verse 3, a third command in this chapter—suffer hardship with me. What he's going to do is give a command and this is given as a command. And then he's going to support it with three metaphors or three illustration, three analogies to make the point. All three of these examples will be making the same point, to suffer hardship. It's going to be difficult but there is a reward as a result. And then he'll conclude by giving another command in verse 7—consider. You think carefully on these things and as you do the Lord will show you, give you insight in how they should be applied to your life and your ministry.

The command in verse 3, suffer hardship with me. That's the exact same command given in verse 8 of chapter 1; join with me in suffering for the gospel. Same Greek word translated suffer hardship with me in chapter 2 verse 3. Compound word as we noted when we did it up in verse 8. Really three words put together—the preposition with, the word evil and the word suffer. The word suffer we get the English word passion; we talk about the passion of Christ, the suffering of Christ from this word. The first word is with, the last word is suffer, and the middle word is evil, kakos, wickedness. You suffer the trials that come, the difficulties that come, you suffer together with me. Now Paul never presents, this is almost repetitive to the point we'd say, I think we've already covered this. And we have. Paul is writing his last letter as the Spirit of God is directing him and there is repetition to pile it on. Why? Everyone going back to Paul's day down to our day has the same thought. As believers in Jesus Christ if we really serve the Lord, life shouldn't be so difficult. And the testimony of scripture is just the opposite. The more faithful you are with the gospel, the more identified you are with Jesus Christ and those who are faithful to Him, the more difficult your life will be, the more hardship, the more suffering will come into your life. Suffer hardship with me. Up in verse 8 he had made the point that that is necessary in the identification with the gospel, now down in verse 3 he elaborates that is necessary in identification with the gospel and there is no other way to have a faithful life of service for Jesus Christ.

He is going to use a soldier, he's going to use an athlete and he's going to use a farmer. They all have to have discipline, hard working lives, but they are all rewarded for their service. That's the pattern he's going to follow.

So he starts out, suffer hardship with me, that's the command. Now the first example: as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. Paul often uses the analogy of a soldier, of warfare, of battling as he writes his letters. For him this was not an occasion to relax. Years ago our quartet sang a song, it's not a recreation room, it's a battlefield. And that was conveying this idea. For Paul it was an unrelenting battle. He saw it would be no different for anyone who followed in his footsteps. The danger for Timothy is he might be influenced by the general thinking. This is the day of Nero. We've recently had an election. You don't have Paul saying, we ought to lay low, back off a little bit, Timothy. I love you too much to have you go through the pain and heartache and hardship I've gone through. There is hope that the next emperor might be more sympathetic to Christians. Maybe he won't be so zealous in persecuting us. No discussion like that. In fact, you don't get any idea of what's going on with believers. This is the pattern, Timothy, you step up. Expect no less. And if you get less of the suffering, less of the hardship, less of the pain then you are not faithful in following the Lord. These are serious words.

As a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Let me just give you a couple examples. Philippians 2:25, Paul referred to Epaphroditis, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier. He joined with me in the battle, in the warfare. In Philemon 2 he mentioned Archippus, our fellow soldier. Just comes out of Paul, almost it's just as easy to talk about him as a fellow worker or as a brother. He's a fellow soldier, he's in the battle.

Go back to II Corinthians 10:3. People were attacking Paul, accused him of being weak in person. But he is saying that he has a different kind of ministry. Verse 3, for though we walk in the flesh, walk in these physical bodies; we do not war according to the flesh, according to physical things. You might look at me and say he is nothing; you might listen to me and say he is not very impressive as a speaker, either. But the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations in every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God; we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. You see the military flavor—we are warring, we have weapons of our warfare, they are divinely powerful to destroy enemies, we are taking captive. For Paul this is a war and we must carry on as soldiers.

Ephesians 6 is probably the most familiar passage. That would be a study for you sometime, just go through all the military analogies and references Paul uses in his letters to remind you of the battle we are in. He writes to the church at Ephesus where Timothy is, later when Paul writes to him in II Timothy. Verse 10, and here we have the words, finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. That's foundational. Where does the strength for this battle come from? Not from yourself, but from the Lord. Put on the full armor of God that you'll be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, against the rulers of powers, the world forces of this darkness, to spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenlies. Therefore take up the full armor of God that you'll be able to resist, having done everything to stand firm. Stand firm, therefore, and he goes through the armor. You see that, you be strong, you stand firm. We're battling against spirit forces, spirit beings. Remarkable passage. You just can't do this in the flesh. Do you think the devil is intimidated if I tell him, put 'em up, we're going at it. Why he'd snap his fingers and I'm crushed to nothing. I need the strength of the Lord; we're in the Spirit realm that this battle is taking place. Now he's encouraging Timothy to realize this fact. I don't have to say, I don't know whether this body can do it, I don't know if I have the intelligence to carry it on, I don't........... Well, be strengthened in the Lord. It's the gospel that is the power of God, its God who empowers you to speak and give it forth. This is the warfare we are in.

Come back to II Timothy 2. He wants to elaborate on what is involved in being a soldier. You endure hardship as a good soldier. What do we mean by that? No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life. That no soldier in active service, the word soldier here is a participle. We could translate it, usually in English our participles are “ing” on the end. No one soldiering entangles himself. That's the point. He's in active duty, he's not a reservist, he's not retired. He's in active duty, he is soldiering. Paul draws these analogies from the everyday life of his day. Rome ruled the world; soldiers were evident wherever you went. They ruled by might, by power, and so everybody was familiar with what it meant to be a soldier, what was required of a Roman soldier. They could understand the key word here is entangles. No one in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life. Now some have taken this and run all over the place, but the picture is clear. It doesn't mean that Christians are to have no involvement in everyday life. We have to make a living. Sometimes Paul made tents to support himself. He had to eat; he had to pay his bills. But the word entangles denotes someone who has been ensnared. It's only used one other time in the New Testament, but in Greek outside the New Testament it was used of an animal perhaps that got his horns tangled in something he couldn't get unengaged from, a rabbit who had been ensnared. So the picture is you are entangled in something you can't get out of. So it distracts you and prevents you from soldiering. In other words, everything in our life is to revolve around our relationship to Jesus Christ. Remember, we are not our own, we've been bought with a price. Therefore we are to glorify God in our bodies. Same kind of picture that is used as the Bible consistently and often refers to us as slaves. We are to serve our master. Everything revolves around Him and His will. So here it is, when you were a soldier in active duty, you can't get entangled in the things of everyday life. And we have soldiers representing us and fighting for us in other parts of the world today. They can't be involved and entangled in the way we are. So spiritually we as God's children are always involved in soldiering for Him. So everything I'm going to get involved in I have to think, how this will affect me in practical ways. That's going to be the point down in verse 7 when he commands them to consider these things. You think upon these things and the Lord will give you the insight to know how you ought to apply it to your life personally. I mean, we know it happens. Sometimes Christians who are having financial pressure think if I got entangled in things I may find myself now hindered from what I could do.

I've shared before, I came to pastor here, and I lived in church housing. I didn't buy a house until I was 37. I had to think, now what if the Lord would tell me, I want you to leave and go to another country and serve Me there and you're not going to make very much money. And I want you to go as soon as possible. I'd say, I have to get top dollar for my house so I’ll delay because I ought to wait until I can be sure I have enough equity in my house, even if I sold it at a loss, I could get out of it. That's been my pattern as I move from one house to another house. I could take a great loss on this, I'd hate to do it, but I could do it if the Lord said you have to go. If I'm going to buy a car I think the same way. We get entangled. I'm not saying it’s wrong to buy a house; I'm not saying it's wrong to buy a car or any of the other everyday affairs of life. You have to look at yourself. That's what the point of verse 7 will be. How does this apply in your situation? The Lord will give you the understanding as you mull this over. So we have to look at this from what we are and the role we have in this world. We belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, we are His servants. I can't get all entangled and enmeshed here and then all of a sudden something happens and I can't get disentangled. I have to be careful that I'm being biblical. Number 1, I am a soldier. It's not wrong for me to buy a house.

I was looking at a program on house buying in the last couple of months and there was a soldier on active duty, I believe in the navy. And he is being transferred and for the first time he and his wife, after many years, were going to buy a house. But he only had so many days to devote to that because he had to report to duty by this date. Doesn't matter where he was, he had to report to duty. So everything around buying that house had to be structured around that. I'm on active duty, I have certain days I can do this, but then I have to report to duty. He couldn't call up and say, I'll be late; I'm entangled down here in house buying. Didn't matter. One superseded everything. That's what the point is here. There is a #1 priority for us—we are soldiering. Now we provide for our families, we work jobs; we do things like Paul made tents. But he never got so enmeshed in being a tentmaker, and if I make a lot of money being a tentmaker and I can multiply this business then thinks of what I'm able to do for the Lord. He's not planning today, and some day I will. I am soldiering now so everything gets structured around that. That's a personal thing, that's what verse 7 will be. Timothy, I'm setting down here what you have to do. You have to suffer hardship, here are some examples for you, now as you think about these things the Lord will give you the understanding of how it applies in your life.

No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, just what's involved in living. Doesn't mean he doesn't eat, doesn't pay bills, and doesn’t do that, but first of all he is a soldier. Why? So that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. That's it. He is under orders; he has a commander, that's the point. Jesus Christ has enlisted us, if you will, He is our commander. The goal is to please Him. When I please Him I have been successful. So Timothy is to give his whole hearted devotion to pleasing the One who has enlisted him as a soldier. The other things that get done, they are secondary to me. Buy a house, that's secondary; if I change jobs, that's secondary; if I (fill in the blank), that's secondary. Number 1, I have to see how this will affect me in pleasing the One who is my commander, He enlisted me to be a soldier.

Go back to II Corinthians 5. Paul is talking about our service for the Lord and what our goal is, whether we live or whether we die. Look at verse 9, therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, whether we continue to live on in this physical body or we move out of this body into the presence of the Lord we have an consuming, driving ambition—to be pleasing to Him. That's what consumes me, that's an ambition that is fitting and right for me, whether I am in this life or whether I am living in glory. It will be all about pleasing Him in glory; it's all about pleasing Him now. We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ to be recompensed for the deeds done in the body. I mean, what else matters? I stand before Him, do these other things matter? The things of this life? I want to hear, well done, good and faithful servant. I want Him to say, you lived your life to please Me and I was pleased. That's the goal of the person who has enlisted, his commander decides whether he is pleased or not. That's true everywhere. You have a job and go to work, your boss says, how are you doing? I'm doing great; I think the job is going well. The boss says, I don't think so. You say, that doesn't matter, I think so. I don't think that's how it goes unless you have another job lined up.

I had a staff person one time here and we were talking. How are things going? They're going great; I think they're going well. I said, well I have to tell you I don't think they are going well. He said, well I do. He's no longer here. Because why? In this role I had to be pleased. We all have it everywhere. You understand He is our Lord. In this analogy He is our commander and if He is not pleased, nothing else matters.

All right, back to II Timothy. The second analogy and the second analogy is repeating the same information as the first with a different picture. You'll note the word also that begins verse 5. In other words this is another illustration for you, Timothy. Same point of why, building on the same thing—suffer hardship with me, why you must. He makes the same point with a different illustration. An athlete, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules. We get the English word athletic from this word, athle, athletic. Again, we're talking about a professional athlete here, one who is involved, and they would be well familiar. Just like soldiering, people being a sports fanatic is not new. In Greece they had the Olympiad, in Ephesus they had the Pananonian Games that were on the level of the Olympics in Greece as far as popularity. And people were fanatical for their sports. When the emperor got into trouble, what did he do? He put on games in the coliseum to distract people from his incompetence in other areas of ruling. So sports have been there. So here is an analogy. If you're going to compete in the games as an athlete, you must compete according to the rules. Very simple. If you don't compete according to the rules you can't win. And for the Olympiad the rules required certain strict 10-month preparation time. And even in those ten months leading up to the games if you didn't follow the rules, you were disqualified. And then in the games themselves if you didn't follow the rules. So everybody understood the intensity. Just like we do. We go to a sporting event we see they have to compete according to the rules. But those men out there on the field had rules governing their conduct leading up to this. We hear of someone who got thrown off the team. Why? He broke the rules, he was disqualified from competing any longer, and he can't get the prize.

That's the point here. Anyone competing as an athlete has to compete according to the rules. Now what are the rules we are talking about? What's the command from God through Paul? Suffer hardship with me. Let me illustrate that. Anyone who competes as an athlete has to compete according to the rules. In other words the rule that God has set down is you have to suffer hardship. That's the rule. I think I'm coasting through, I just have the best it can be, I'm forgiven my sins, I'm on my way to heaven and I'm enjoying the good life now. Things can't be any better. I tell you things can't be any worse. You have to compete according to the rules, the rules we're talking about here is the command that has been given—suffer hardship with me. We've seen, if you've been here, all the way back to chapter 1 verse 8, join with me in suffering for the gospel. This is what he is talking about. Stepping up in such an open, clear way that opposition is stirred, it will happen, it does happen, it's a given. He's not saying if the occasion comes where you have to, Timothy, please be willing to suffer hardship. There is no such thing as being an open, clear testimony for Jesus Christ in a fallen, sinful world and not stoking opposition, not causing hardship. Not because we want to go out and make things difficult for ourselves, but the gospel causes trouble, it offends people, it riles them up, it antagonizes the enemy of our souls, the devil, and causes him to unleash some of his fury against us.

If anyone competes as an athlete he doesn't win the prize. The word prize here, basic word we're familiar with is stephanos, a crown. This is the crown of a victor. The diadem was the crown of a ruler, the stephanos the crown of a victor. In athletics the crown wasn't worth anything materially, it was a wreath, branches woven that you could wear. But what it represented was you had been the victor. In chapter 4 verse 8 Paul will say he has run the race, he has finished the course. Now he has the crown, the stephanos, the prize of righteousness stored up for him. That's what it's about. The contest is not over until we are called into the presence of His glory. Then the prize is given. That's the picture, the view. Not running, looking and seeing how I can avoid as much hardship and suffering and trial and difficulty as I can, but plowing ahead in the race, like somebody competing. I mean, if the guy down there on the field in the athletic contest is thinking, I'm just looking for whatever way I can to get some ease and relief, so I want to get out here where I don't have to hit anybody and nobody has to hit me, I don't have to run as hard and I don't have to go anyplace where it is difficult. He probably is not going to be playing. He's not competing. You have to go out there and give everything you have. That's what God is saying. Now we aren't talking about how you get saved, we're talking about how you live as a saved person. There is a major difference. And here what does God expect and require of those who truly belong to Him?

The third example, the hard working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops. Again, another example that would permeate the day. The farming went on in a much smaller scale, obviously, in those days. Everybody was familiar with it, farming took place all around. They didn't have machinery to help with farming just like they don't have equipment today to help in a variety of jobs. It was all done by hard manual labor, out there under the beating sun, working with hand tools, working with animals and tools you had made. Just grinding it out. The hard working farmer. We've seen this word here; the basic word is kopiao, one of Paul's favorite words. It means to work and toil to exhaustion, wearisome, tiresome kind of work.

So you see the picture—a soldier in active service. That disciplined life that remains focused. The athlete functioning according to the rules; playing according to the rules. That disciplined and focused life, that hard-working, toiling, laboring farmer doing what has to be done. That suffering that all three of these pictures entails, the difficulty, the hardship. But he ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops, picturing the assurance that he gets rewarded because he's the first to benefit from his labors. He put it into the ground, he's taking it out of the ground, and he can take the first portion for himself so he is assured of the reward. Each of these has a reward. For the soldier it is pleasing his commander. For the athlete it is winning the prize. For the farmer it is benefiting from the crop. So the picture in all three of these illustrations is a hard, disciplined willingness to suffer. But there is a reward as a result.

Now they all illustrate the command, suffer hardship with me. Now in verse 7 he gives another command. You ought to have a way to mark commands in your Bible—underline them in a color, circle them, highlight—so you pick up the commands as you go through. Consider is a command, present imperative. He is to constantly think upon these things, give consideration to these things, the examples he's given, and the illustrations he has given in light of the command to suffer hardship. Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding. And there we have that balance again. He's commanded to be strong in the grace that is in the Lord Jesus Christ in verse 1. His responsibility and God's sovereign work, the work that only God could do, giving him the power, the enablement. Down here Timothy is commanded to think on these things, to take this truth of scripture and think on it, consider it, examine his life in light of it. And the Lord will give you understanding. King James says may grant you. And so it was something that may or may not happen. This is an assurance. The Lord will give you understanding in everything as you follow the command. Just like the Lord will strengthen you in His grace as you do what He commands you to do. Be strengthened. We draw upon His strength. Here I take this truth, I don't just fold up my Bible and say, that was interesting, a little repetitive but I guess I got the point. No, I take my life now and I examine it in light of the instructions given here and say, am I functioning as one soldiering, or have I become entangled and ensnared? Maybe good intentions but I didn't really think first of soldiering. I thought of other things, I thought it an opportunity, I thought of a good deal, I thought of a good buy, I thought of promotion. And now I find out it has entangled me and hinders my soldiering. I have to take and think on these things for myself, Timothy. I can sit here and think of other people and say, I think this applies to them. The command to Timothy is you consider this, the command to us is we consider this individually for ourselves.

And the Lord will give you understanding. It means insight in everything. So in all the areas of your life and in everything you are involved in, as you consider what God has said for you He gives you the insight. You examine your life in light of this and you look and say, if I'm honest I'd have to say I have too many distractions, too many entanglements to be a good soldier. I have too many things in my life; I couldn't be intensely involved as an athlete. I mean, athletes have other things they have to do. But the prime thing they are is an athlete. And so the discipline that goes with that and the following the rules that go with that, everything else get put in that context. That hard working farmer, that's the same thing. If I don't get the crops in, if I don't take care of it, if I don't get it out............. So all the other things in our lives, there will be other things, but we put it in the context we belong to Jesus Christ. First and foremost I have to evaluate everything, how does this affect my service for Him. I'm ready. If I have to go to the mission field tomorrow I can sell my house. Well, housing prices are down. I know, but I took that into consideration. If I have to sell my house for a fraction of what I paid for it I can get out. What about my car? Well, hard to sell a car today. Yes, but if I have to I can give my car away, I can go. Certain things I want to be careful I don't get entangled, so pretty soon I say, well, I couldn't be open with the gospel today, I couldn't stand too strongly for the Lord today, I couldn't be too bold today. That would have consequences that would negatively impact me and this wouldn't be a good time for that. Well let's face it; it's never a “good time” humanly speaking to suffer, is it? It's never a good time to be languishing in a Roman dungeon awaiting the time to have your head cut off. That's not a good time. The issue is, is it God's time, is it the right time? Then I am ready. That's what we need to examine for ourselves.

How are we doing? How are we doing individually? How are we doing as a church? Do we consider these things? We may look at our lives and have to say, I have some changes to make and it's going to take me a little while to make them. But the thing is, I better get making them. In light of the Word as I look at my life, my willingness to suffer hardship, I need to step up.

I want to read one passage with you and we're done. Go back to Matthew 10. This is not new material, as you are aware. This is what Christ set out as the requirement for anyone who wanted to become a disciple of His. If you want to be a follower of Jesus Christ, this is what is required. In other words if you want to be a follower here is what is required. The other side is you don't become a follower. Look at verse 24, a disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. You can pick up whatever metaphor, illustration, you want. It is enough for the disciple that he becomes like his teacher, the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul how much more will they malign the members of his household. Therefore, do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops. You see we're expected to be bold with the truth entrusted to us, not fearing. Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul, but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a cent and yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered, so do not fear. You are more valuable than many sparrows. Therefore, everyone who confesses Me. You see we keep going back and forth. Don't fear, be bold, speak the truth, don't fear. Everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven. Remember Matthew 7? Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, we did all these great things in your name. He'll say I never knew you. Depart from Me. Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace but a sword. Contrary to what many religious people think, many Protestants and Catholics want to pretend is true today, Jesus Christ did not come to bring peace on earth. He came to bring a sword. I came to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man's enemies will be the members of his household. Now note this, he who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. He who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. He who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, he who has lost his life for My sake will find it. Let's get it straight, there is only one path of life. Follow Me. But let me tell you, following Me means you become Mine. I have to be #1. I've mentioned a number of times, I'll mention again. You cannot honor Jesus Christ in your life by elevating Him to second place. He will not take second place. If you love family or family members more than Him you cannot follow Him. He must be #1; you must be willing to suffer. Your family may be torn apart; you become a follower of Jesus Christ. Let's be upfront about it. You get saved and your husband or wife does not, you have the potential to be in a miserable marriage. Your parents may turn against you, your children may not be happy for you. On it goes. But let's face it, if you do not take up your cross and follow after Me you are not worthy of Me. That's the way it is. There are not two roads to heaven, there is one. You must become a follower of Jesus Christ. And that commitment, understand, means your life becomes His and it is a hard road. You know how your Lord and Master came to His end? Rejected of men, despised and forsaken. You know where we're going, crucified, a death reserved for the worst of the criminals.

You know how this section in Matthew started out; don't think you are better than Me if you want to be a follower of Mine. I'm the Master, you are the slave. Don't think you ought to get better treatment. This idea, we get so concerned, it's going to get difficult in the world. What are we going to do? We're going to follow Christ, aren't we? We're going to proclaim the gospel, aren't we? What's changed from this week and last week or next week? We're followers of Christ. Yes, but if this happens persecution may come. Well, what about it? We might get arrested. Yes. Some might be martyred. Yes. So what's the issue? Who do you follow? You know, sometimes I think we have created a false Christ and many people in our churches are following that Christ. He's the Christ of the comfortable life. Paul's command to Timothy is you suffer hardship with me. There is reward at the end. Now take these things to heart, think about them carefully. The Lord will give you understanding.

Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for your truth. Thank you for the power of your Word. Thank you, Lord, that we are privileged to be followers of Jesus Christ. Lord, sometimes we allow ourselves to be distracted by the things of this life. We fail to consider that we've been called to take up our cross and follow Christ. What a privilege and what an honor to have been enlisted by Jesus Christ as a soldier who serves Him, as an athlete who is living to please Him for the prize that He will give, as that one laboring as a farmer, toiling to exhaustion to benefit at the end with the prize and the reward that He gives. Lord, may each of us take the truth of your word to heart, to think upon it carefully, to consider our own lives individually and personally in light of these truths. And you will give the insight for us in everything. We praise you for it in Christ's name, amen.